Time Running Out for Black-History Collection

Oprah? Tyler Perry? Anyone? We know somebody out there has a few hundred thousand dollars to spare and an enough of an interest in African-American history to purchase this rare collection and keep it intact. Suggested Reading Black Shows To Look Forward to In 2026 Trump’s Christmas Day Airstrikes in Nigeria Spark Outrage and Divide…

Oprah? Tyler Perry? Anyone? We know somebody out there has a few hundred thousand dollars to spare and an enough of an interest in African-American history to purchase this rare collection and keep it intact.

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According to CNN, Nathaniel Montague spent 50 years collecting the set of books, photographs, paintings and other African-America memorabilia, but he overextended himself with loans to pay for archiving and housing and had to file for bankruptcy. His creditor has granted him six months to find a buyer, but so far no one has stepped up to purchase the collection, which includes slave and indentured-servitude documents; a signed copy of Phillis Wheatley’s “Poems on Various Subjects,” dated 1773; and a handwritten letter from Booker T. Washington seeking financial assistance for 221 students at Tuskegee.

If the 8,000-piece set has to be sold piecemeal, Montague says, it will break his heart. It will also break up a one-of-a-kind representation of the history of black people in the United States.

Any takers?

Read more at CNN.

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